School Assignment: Pest Pigeon Control

A GCSE project from decades ago is turned into a pigeon-shooting trailer – luxurious, yes, but would it be efficient, wonders Tom Payne

- Tom Payne

It would be fair to say that for many the laid crops — and laid barley in particular — have not come to fruition this year. On the upside, this is good news for the farmer. However, the crops in many counties have been poor due to dry weather. It’s one of the reasons for crops not flattening. There’s been no weight in the heads and the crops are stunted in growth. This hasn’t got rid of the pesky pigeon; it’s simply made it trickier to control their numbers by shooting.

Last year there was an incredible draw to standing wheat and it’s been very much the same this year. The first stubbles of 2019, especially rape, didn’t shoot properly due to the obsessive behaviour of pigeon on wheat. At last year’s Game Fair, Shooting Times deputy editor Ed Wills and I sat enjoying a pint in the sun, watching pigeon pouring into standing wheat.

Fast forward to 2020 and I think we can all agree it hasn’t been a ‘normal’ year, apart from the fact that the grey grouse is still making a mess of farmers’ standing wheat. When considering who would be suffering that problem, I knew the farm to visit.

I pulled into Manor Farm to visit my good friend Ian Adams, an arable farmer and pigeon shooting enthusiast. It was great to catch up but Ian, being Ian, quickly moved on to the various contraptions he’s been building on the farm. And as he rushed me off to a barn to see his new idea, I could tell it was going to be interesting. He can’t help but show his enthusiasm when he’s had a lightbulb moment.

Old trailer